Monday, October 18, 2010

Most of the time when I am conducting an interview with a soap star, I have more interview material than space for printing the interview. Here are some blurbs from stars that did not make it to the print version of the interview, but were too good not to publish.

Julie Marie Berman (Lulu Spencer, “General Hospital”) on whether Dante’s feelings for her would change if he knew she had had an abortion years ago: “I think she feels like she wants to be honest about everything that’s gone on in her life, whether it’s necessary for him to know is anyone’s opinion. But in Lulu’s case, I think she wants to be completely honest with who she is and what she’s been through. This is something that is still a big thing that goes on in her head, and I don’t think she can live her life without being reminded of this. Because it has shaped who she is today, I think she wants to be honest with Dante about that episode. With that, I think she is worried that he might not look at her the same way. Even if he can accept it, I think she’s just worried that it’ll change what they have right now. Obviously if he were not to accept her for that, I think it would heartbreaking, but at the end of the day, she’ll be with someone who can accept her for the choices that she’s made in life and who she is today.”

Justin Bruening (ex-Jamie Martin, “All My Children”) on getting recognized by fans: “Sometimes you get into a little routine with something, and I remember there was a situation on ‘All My Children’ once, I was signing autographs and stuff, and you start getting used to people stopping you on the street. The second someone stops you and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re Justin, right?’ and you’re ready to sign an autograph. That happened to me once, and it was actually someone that I went to high school with who just wanted to say hi.”

Marnie Schulenburg (ex-Allison Stewart on “As the World Turns”) on comparing getting her start on soaps to “acting boot camp”: “It’s an incredible; it’s like a school. You learn so much. If you are lucky enough to have that opportunity, then you are truly a blessed actor. This has certain limitations, because it is very specific in its delivery and in its style. So, if you are someone who wants change or wants something different to grow from, you can either do both (‘ATWT’ and NY theater) like I was lucky enough to do. I had the freedom to do other acting stuff while I was there, but you are not always able to do that. But I loved it. I loved it for the people and for what I learned from it, but I think I’m ready to try some other venue now.”

Ken Corday (Executive Producer, “Days of Our Lives”) on how the “Days”/“Friends” tie-in came about: “It happened when Jeff Zucker was the West Coast chief programmer —it came out of his fertile mind. Brandon Tartikoff, who had trained Jeff, was always a staunch believer in the talent pool of daytime television. He said, ‘You know, Ken, from your talent pool of 30 or some odd actors that we see every day, there are usually one or two who catch our eye that we want to break out.’ Alison Sweeney is the current example. It was NBC publicity that came to us and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if Drake’ — the ‘Friends’ character of Drake Ramore, who was modeled after Drake Hogestyn — ‘was the name of the character on the “Friends” version of “Days” who would be played by Joey?’ We call it cross-pollenization. It’s wonderful. It lets the primetime viewer know that NBC has respect for ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and it lets ‘Days of Our Lives’ viewers know that their favorites on primetime are watching the show.”